Lokniti's Sanjay Kumar apologises for erroneous voter data amid ‘Vote Chori’ debate in Maharashtra
New Delhi: Prominent psephologist and co-director of Lokniti-CSDS, Sanjay Kumar, has apologised after deleting a social media post that reported a massive surge in voter numbers in two Maharashtra Assembly constituencies, giving fresh momentum to the Congress’ allegations of electoral malpractice in the state.
The post, shared on X (formerly Twitter) on August 17, claimed voter increases of 47.38% in Nashik West and 43.08% in Hingna between the 2024 Lok Sabha and Assembly elections. It was widely circulated by Opposition leaders, particularly Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, to support allegations of ‘vote chori’ (vote theft) in Maharashtra.
Kumar later admitted the figures were incorrect, stating, “Error occurred while comparing data of 2024 Lok Sabha and 2024 Assembly. The data in row was misread by our Data team. The tweet has since been removed. I had no intention of dispersing any form of misinformation.”
The incident has intensified the ongoing debate over alleged manipulation of electoral rolls, which the Congress claims was carried out in collusion with the Election Commission of India (ECI) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The BJP, however, criticised Kumar, calling his actions “reckless” and accusing him of amplifying the Opposition’s narrative of electoral fraud.
BJP leader Amit Malviya described the incident as “confirmation bias rather than analysis” and urged the public to scrutinise claims made by Kumar and other psephologists closely. BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said, “Sanjay Kumar of CSDS admits his data on Maharashtra was fake. Based on this fakery, the Congress ecosystem attacked the ECI. Will the Congress apologise for insulting Maharashtra and its great people?”
Rahul Gandhi had cited similar voter data during a press conference on August 17, alleging manipulation of electoral rolls to benefit the BJP and terming it “vote chori.” Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, however, refuted these claims as “baseless” and urged the Congress leader to substantiate the allegations or apologise.
The Bihar Chief Electoral Officer’s office also acknowledged Kumar’s apology, noting that the data had been widely quoted by Congress and other Opposition leaders to question the ECI’s credibility.
According to India Today, Kumar’s deleted post stated that the number of voters in Nashik West had risen from 3,28,053 in the Lok Sabha elections to 4,83,459 in the Assembly polls, while in Hingna it grew from 3,14,605 to 4,50,414. The post had been tagged with Lokniti-CSDS and CSDS Delhi, and quickly gained traction among Opposition leaders before the error was identified.
The ECI has clarified that voter roll revisions, including Maharashtra’s updates, are conducted to remove duplicates and deceased voters, ensuring transparency and not to disenfranchise legitimate voters.
This controversy comes amid broader Opposition allegations over electoral roll manipulations in Bihar during the Special Intensive Revision exercise ahead of the state Assembly elections later this year.
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Putin meets Iran's FM Araghchi, says Russia ready to do its best to help bring peace to West Asia
Moscow (PTI): Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Monday met Russian President Vladimir Putin, who hailed the Iranian people for fighting bravely and heroically for their sovereignty and said Moscow is ready to do its best to help bring peace to West Asia as soon as possible.
Araghchi, who held talks with Omani and Pakistani leadership before arriving in Russia, met Putin in St. Petersburg and thanked him for supporting Iran, state-owned TASS news agency reported.
"Russia is ready to do everything in its power to ensure that peace in the Middle East is achieved as soon as possible," Putin said during his meeting with Araghchi, which was also attended by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
Revealing that he received a message from Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei last week, Putin asked Araghchi to convey his "gratitude for this message and best wishes for his health and well-being."
He praised the Iranian people for fighting "bravely and heroically" for their sovereignty, Iran's state-run PRESS TV reported.
"We really hope that, based on the courage and desire for independence, the Iranian people, under the guidance of the new leader, will weather this difficult period of trials and peace will come,” Putin said.
He also stressed that Russia “intends to maintain” its strategic relations with Iran.
Araghchi said that the world witnessed Iran’s strength in countering the US during the recent war, and that the Islamic Republic is a "stable and powerful establishment."
"With their courage, the Iranian people succeeded in resisting the US aggression and will be able to endure it,” he said.
He said that it became clear that Iran has “great friends and allies” like Russia, and conveyed “warmest greetings” from Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei and President Masoud Pezeshkian to the Russian leader.
Araghchi said relations between Moscow and Tehran represent a “strategic partnership at the highest level” and will continue to develop "regardless of circumstances."
"We are grateful to you for the solid and strong positions in support of the Islamic Republic of Iran," he said.
Foreign Minister Lavrov said that the talks between President Putin and the Iranian Foreign Minister were "useful and constructive."
Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov later said that Russia is "ready to provide any good offices, any mediation services that are acceptable to the parties."
"We will be ready to do everything so that ultimately peace ensues, guaranteed peace, and that there is no return to hostilities," Peskov was quoted as saying by TASS.
He was asked how Moscow can assist in future negotiations on the Iranian settlement.
Araghchi arrived in Russia after his whirlwind trip to Islamabad, which, according to him, was “very productive” and involved “good consultations" with Pakistan's Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, amid uncertainty over the second round of peace talks to resolve the war in West Asia.
"We held good consultations with our friends in Pakistan. The trip was successful. We assessed the outcome of our recent (meetings) and discussed in what direction and under what conditions talks can move on,” Araghchi said in a video posted on his Telegram channel upon his arrival in St Petersburg.
Referring to the second round of talks between the US and Iran to resolve the conflict in West Asia, Araghchi said: "Developments have taken place in the negotiations."
"Despite some progress in earlier rounds, the talks failed to reach their objectives due to the Americans' approach, the excessive demands they made, and the wrong approaches they adopted. Therefore, it was necessary to consult with our friends in Pakistan to review the latest situation,” Iran's official news agency IRNA quoted him as saying.
He said that the trip to Pakistan was a good opportunity to review developments related to the US-Israeli war against Iran, expressing confidence that “these consultations and coordination between the two countries will be highly significant.”
Araghchi arrived at St. Petersburg's Pulkovo Airport early Monday, where he was welcomed by Russian officials and Iran’s ambassador to Russia, Kazem Jalali, the report said.
The first round of peace talks between Iran and the US, held on April 11 and 12, failed to bring the desired result for the parties to the conflict.
The Iranian minister arrived in Islamabad for the second time on Sunday after a short visit to Oman, where he held talks with Sultan Haitham bin Tariq al-Said on security in the Strait of Hormuz and diplomatic efforts to end the Iran-US conflict.
After Araghchi left Pakistan for Oman on Saturday, President Donald Trump announced that US negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner would no longer be going to Islamabad for talks with Iran, contending that Washington held all the cards on the matter.
Trump on Sunday reiterated that the US and Iranian officials can talk by phone for a peace solution to the conflict.
On Tuesday, Trump extended the two-week ceasefire with Iran indefinitely to give Tehran more time to prepare a unified proposal to end the war, just hours before the truce was set to expire.
The war began when the US and Israel jointly attacked Iran on February 28, killing Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several top commanders. The retaliation by the Islamic Republic extended the war to the entire Gulf region.
